Thane, August 14: A case of digital arrest fraud has come to light from Mumbai's neighbouring Thane, where an elderly man was allegedly duped of INR 85 lakh. A scammer posing as a South Delhi police officer called the victim and accused him of smuggling drugs to Singapore. The incident, which occurred on August 7, also saw the fraudster ending the victim with a fake arrest warrant.

According to a report in the Times of India, during the video call, the alleged scammer managed to convince the victim that he was under surveillance. The accused even got the complainant to visit his bank and transfer money to "an account monitored by the government". The incident came to light when the complainant lodged a complaint with the Vartak Nagar police station. Following this, a call made to the cybercrime helpline number "1930" helped in blocking INR 6.3 lakh of the defrauded amount. Trading Fraud in Thane: 40-Year-Old Woman Software Engineer Duped of INR 91 Lakh in Share Trading Fraud; 3 Booked.

In his complaint, the elderly man said that on August 7, he received a call from a man who identified himself as Sunil Kumar from Vasant Kunj police station in south Delhi. The caller told the victim that the Customs department had alerted them about a courier being sent to Singapore in his name. The fraudster also alleged that the parcel contained 16 passports, 58 ATM cards, and 140gm of drugs.

After the call ended, the fraudster video-called the victim on WhatsApp and showed his identity card to him. The complainant's son said that the fraudster even accused his father of human trafficking and said that he would have to come to Delhi soon. The complainant further claimed that Kumar sent him copies of the arrest warrant and a court order to seize his property. The video call reportedly lasted for two hours.

The victim's son said that the fraudster asked his father not to reveal the incident to anyone and locked himself in a room. Acting on Kumar's instructions, the victim shared a screenshot showing his bank account balance. Post this, the accused asked him to transfer INR 85 lakh to a government-monitored account. The so-called police officer assured the victim that his money would be refunded if he was found innocent. Cryptocurrency Scam in Thane: Man Loses INR 31 Lakh in Online Crypto Currency Investment Fraud.

Falling into the trap, the victim visited his bank and transferred the money. When the next day, he did not receive any updates on his case, he realized something amiss and narrated the incident to his wife. Following this, the family approached the police. While a probe was launched, cops said that the fraudsters withdrew around INR 62 lakh from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 14, 2024 09:11 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).